$1M settlement reached in wrongful death lawsuit filed by parents of UConn student run over by fire vehicle

By Dave Collins

Associated Press|

Apr 20, 2020 | 2:50 PM

Jeffny Pally, 19, of West Hartford, a UConn sophomore who died shortly after 1 a.m. on Oct. 16, 2016. A fire vehicle hit her as it exited the campus firehouse in Storrs. (Photo courtesy of the family / HANDOUT)

The parents of a UConn student who was run over and killed by a campus fire department truck in 2016 have settled a wrongful death lawsuit against the state and other defendants for about $1 million, according to a probate court official.

Jeffny Pally, a 19-year-old sophomore from West Hartford, fell asleep in front of a fire department garage door after drinking alcohol at an off-campus party, authorities said. A department SUV accidentally ran over her while responding to what turned out to be a false alarm.

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A probate court official told The Associated Press on Monday that the case was settled for just over $1 million. Details of the settlement were filed with the probate court late last month and the lawsuit was withdrawn on April 9.

Pally’s parents, Abraham and Shinymol Chemmarappally, sued the state, the fire department driver and the Kappa Sigma fraternity, which the lawsuit alleged hosted the party where Pally drank alcohol, for negligence, recklessness and other claims. The civil allegations against the driver, Dana Barrow, were dismissed by a judge.

A lawyer for the parents, Michael Walsh, released a statement on their behalf Monday.

“The Chemmarappally family believes the case was resolved in a fair and just manner,” the statement said. “Everyday they still mourn the loss of their beautiful daughter Jeffny. Beyond that, they have no comment.”

Messages seeking comment were left with state officials, UConn officials and private attorneys who represented the state.

Six UConn students who were members of the fraternity were arrested on alcohol-related charges in connection with the off-campus party. All of them received a probation program that resulted in the charges being erased and the fraternity was expelled from UConn.

Surveillance video recorded the accident at about 1 a.m. on Oct. 16, 2016, and shows Pally slump to the ground up against the see-through garage door. The video was later provided to the Courant by Walsh and the newspaper published an edited portion of the footage.

The video shows Barrow hesitate and briefly stop the SUV as it first makes contact Pally before he continued driving over her to respond to the call -- a detail not noted in the extensive police reports on the accident. Barrow later told investigators he had assumed the bump was just equipment that had been in the way and only discovers Pally's body upon his return from the call, which turned out to be a false alarm.

Barrow was not criminally charged. Police said Barrow believed he drove over a piece of equipment and was focused on responding to a reported dormitory fire. He thought he would check on the equipment when he got to the firehouse, authorities said. He retired in 2017.